Man Accused Of Stalking Miley Cyrus Accepts Plea Deal

SAVANNAH, GA - Mark McLeod, the man accused of stalking Miley Cyrus as she filmed a movie on Tybee Island this past summer accepted a plea deal in State Court Friday morning.  On Wednesday, the Grand Jury had refused to indict McLeod on felony charges in connection with the case because of what the jury found to be insufficient evidence.  McLeod was arrested twice over the summer as Cyrus worked on the film “The Last Song” on Tybee Island.  The charges for which he accepted the plea deal relate to a June 22nd incident in which McLeod resisted police as he was arrested for disorderly conduct.

Mark Owen McLeod pled guilty to two misdemeanor charges, obstruction and disorderly conduct.  McLeod received a sentence of 12 months, 90 days to serve with the balance on probation and credit for time served, for disorderly conduct. He also received 12 months probation for the obstruction charge, which will run consecutive with the disorderly conduct. McLeod was also banned from Chatham County, and was ordered to:

• stay away from Miley Cyrus as per a temporary restraining order,
• refrain from using computers during the term of his probation
• undergo a mental health assessment and treatment if needed.

Chatham County District Attorney Larry Chisolm released this statement shortly after the plea.

“The plea in the Mark Owen McLeod case was a fair and just resolution to a difficult situation. While on the one hand we had a problematic defendant, we did not have very clear violations of the law of the State of Georgia in connection with the more serious charges. We had to consider the safety of Ms. Cyrus and the citizens of Chatham County, balanced against the fairness of the application of the law and not over-reacting because a celebrity was involved.”

“The officers of the Tybee Island Police Department and the private security officers involved are to be commended for their significant professionalism for taking the matter very seriously and taking extra precautions to ensure that Ms Cyrus was safe – even to the point of executing a search at the defendant’s residence in Appling, Georgia, and assisting in securing a civil protective order for Ms Cyrus. Their efforts will assist her in having the defendant arrested for a felony, on sight, if he follows her to mostly any state in the country.”

The DA’s Office listed several reasons for their decision not to pursue the charge of attempted stalking:
• Insufficient evidence that McLeod’s attempt to reach or follow Miley Cyrus was different than the hundreds of other
          fans at Tybee Island during the filming of the movie.
• No evidence that McLeod had the specific intent to intimidate or harass Ms. Cyrus; nor was he placed on legal
          notice not to be in Ms Cyrus’ presence.
• Ms. Cyrus and her family had no prior knowledge of McLeod; therefore a restraining order was not filed until after
          the incidents on Tybee Island.